My partner and I are planning to purchase a flat in Chesterfield and are in fact using a Chesterfield conveyancing practice. Within the past 48 hours our conveyancer has forwarded the sale agreement to be signed with a detailed report with the expectation that exchange is imminent. Nationwide Building Society have this evening contacted us to inform me that they have now hit a problem as our Chesterfield conveyancer is not on their approved list of lawyers. What do we do from here?
When purchasing a property with mortgage finance it is standard for the purchasers' lawyers to also act for the purchaser's lender. In order to act for a bank or building society a law firm has to be on that lender's conveyancing panel. An application has to be made by the law firm to the lender to become a member of the lender's panel and there are increasingly strict criteria which the firm has to satisfy and indeed some lenders now require their panel members to be part of the Law Society’s Conveyancing Quality Scheme. Your solicitor should contact your lender and see if they can apply for membership of their conveyancing panel, but if that is not viable they will instruct their own lawyers to represent them. You don't have to instruct a firm on the lender’s conveyancing panel and you may continue to use your own Chesterfield solicitors, in which case it will likely add costs, and it may delay matters as you are adding another lawyer into the mix.
What can a local search inform me about the house we're buying in Chesterfield?
Chesterfield conveyancing often commences with the ordering local authority searches directly from your local Authority or via a personal search organisations for instance Searchflow The local search plays a central part in most Chesterfield conveyancing purchase; as long as you wish to avoid any nasty once you have moved into your property. The search should reveal information on, amongst other things, details on planning applications relevant to the property (whether granted or refused), building control history, any enforcement action, restrictions on permitted development, nearby road schemes, contaminated land and radon gas; in all a total of thirteen topic sections.
Despite weeks of looking the Title Certificate and documents to our home can not be found. The solicitors who did the conveyancing in Chesterfield 5 years ago no longer exist. What are my next steps?
Assuming you have a registered title the details of your proprietorship will be retained by HMLR with a Title Number. It is possible to perform a search at the Land Registry, identify your property and secure up to date copies of the property title for less than a fiver. Where the title is Leasehold then the Land Registry will usually hold a file copy of the Registered Lease and again, a copy can be obtained for twenty pounds.
My company is wishing to lease a unit on the high street. Can you recommend solicitors offering no-move-no charges for non-domestic conveyancing in Chesterfield for below £2000?
We are happy to recommend firms who have well rounded knowledge of commercial conveyancing in Chesterfield, including the sale and acquisition of businesses as well as simply property. If you are intending to acquire or lease a shop, pub, restaurant, office, retail premises or a whole business we will find you the right solicitor. As for the costs this will depend on the structure and complexity of the deal. Let us have your details or phone so as to enable us to supply you with a fixed commercial conveyancing quote.
I need to switch lawyers as my Chesterfield lawyer is not on the lender's approved list of conveyancing solicitors. Is it practical to instruct different lawyers?
If you haven't yet appointed a solicitor to start work and have just received quotes, you're perfectly free to choose a different solicitor to carry out your work for you. The best way is to get recommendations from friends or family who have actually used the solicitor or conveyancer in Chesterfield that you're thinking of instructing.